Manifolding



H, 1952 D. A. NEWMAN 2985mm MANIFOLDING Filed Aug. 28, 1948 IIIIIIIIIIIIINVENTOR. Dough; A. New mam BY mm gwxaaqaaqm MWM wi/ ATTORNEMS' PatentedMar. 11, 1952 MANIFOLDING Douglas A. Newman, Sea Cliff, N. Y., assignorto Columbia Ribbon and Carbon Manufacturing Company. Inc., Glen Cove, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application August 28, 1948, Serial No.46,570

12 Claims.

This invention relates to manifolding and particularly to an improvedtransfer or carbon strip for use in the manufacture of manifolding setsformed of record sheets or strips collated with one or more such carbonsheets or strips.

More particularly this invention relates to improvements in carbonsheets or strips of the general type in which the sheet or strip has amarginal portion which carries a normally inert or inactive adhesive,thus providin for attachment of itself to adiacent record sheets orstrips by activating the adhesive.

When a carbon strip is prepared in this manner, and particularly when thre are t o opposite adhesive applications, a substantial diiierence inthickness exists between the carboniz d portion and theadhesive-carrying portion thereof and winding of the strip on a core toform a roll, as it leaves the coating machine for instance, isimpractical because the hills and valleys form d on the roll by theuneven thickness cause the web to crinkle or break, or both.

It is an object of the invention, therefore, to produce a strip or webof transfer or carbon material having one or more adhesive applications,which strip or web is so constr cted that it can be readily wound toform a roll without damage to itself.

The type of adhesive to be used may generally be determined by practicalconsiderations since the present invention may be carried out using awidevariety of materials. The only r striction is that the adhesivecoating m st be rendered dry or inactive in the relatively short periodof time reouired in a practical production process for the web to travelfrom the coating device to the collecting or winding station. Thisdrying may be accomplished through proper choice of the adhesive andvehicle, by after-treatment of the adhesive coating, or by a combinationthereof.

The present invention is based in part on the invention of my copendingapplication. Serial Number 660,011, filed April 5, 1946, now UnitedStates Patent No. 2,503,680, issued April 11, 1950, and constitutes animprovement thereover. In my prior application, the problems raised bythe thickness of adhesive applications on carbon paper are explored atlength and the solution therein proposed consists primarily in theapplication of lines or spots of adhesive to nonoverlapping areas of thestrip or web. These applications are disclosed as taking the form ofpairs of parallel longitudinal bands of adhesive, one band of each pairbeing on the face opposite to the other pair and offset therefromtransversely of the strip or web, or the form of a series of staggeredadhesive spots ofiset from each other both longitudinally andtransversely.

I have found, however, that the complete 01T- setting of the adhesiveapplications, as disclosed in my said prior application is not in allcases essential and that a practical and windable structure may beachieved in many instances by a partial offsetting of the same withcertain marked improvements in the manufacture and the eflicacy of theproduct resulting.

A carbon strip in accordance with my invention is provided with acoating of transfer material in the usual m nner, a portion of the striusually marginal, ordinarily being free of said coating for thereception of adhesive. This marginal portion has thereon bands of dry,normally inactive adhesive material arranged in an undulating, zigzag,saw-tooth, or any other similar fashion. There are, of course, varioustortuous or wavy forms which the adhesive bands may assume consist ntwith the invention herein, and any one is believed to be the equivalentof the others. For the sake of simplicity the preferred or substantiallysinusoidal form only is shown, but all similar forms are included andare comprehended in the term "sinuous which is used in this sensehereinafter. When both surfaces are provided with adhesive in thismanner, the waves or undulations are so arranged as to be generallyopposite to each other in the areas defined by their envelope lines, butout of phase with each other, with the result that a double thickness ofadhesive occurs only in very small areas where the sinuous ba'nds cross.

By this procedure I am able to apply the adhesive material to thetransfer strip using a continuous process which largely avoids the un- Icertainty concerning the thickness of application which is apt to ariseat the terminals of individual spaced applications in cases where thecoating must be intermittently applied. The pattern which the adhesiveassumes, being continuous and alternately offset in opposite directions,is likewise conducive to the production of a firmer manifolding packthan is the case where the elements of the pack must be held together byspaced adhesive applications, or by parallel continuous applicationswhich are constantly offset in the same relative directions. I

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coated web of transfer materialprior to slitting into strips and made in accordance with the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a roll of transfer material made inaccordance with the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan of a portion of a web showing amodified form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section similar to Fig. 5, but showing fragmentsof a pair of superposed convolutions of a web according to my invention.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged section similar to Fig. 6, but taken at adifferent location in a roll and showing four superposed convolutions;and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a manifoldin set employing carbon sheetsmade in accordance with the present invention.

In the manufacture of carbon paper it is convenient and economical toproduce the same by passing a web having a width equal to the width ofseveral carbon strips through a coating process, and to slit the sameinto separate strips thereafter. Such strips may then be collated withrecord strips to form continuous manifold sets, or may be chopped intosheets for collating with record sheets to ultimately produce individualsets. it is desired to collect either the web or strip, this step ismost conveniently accomplished by winding the same upon a core to form aroll.

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in Fig. 1 in which awide web II] of carbon paper is wound to form a roll. This web is ofsuch width as to be capable of being split into a number of singlestrips II, shown here as three for the sake of simplicity. The majorportion of the web is coated, usually on one side only, with a transferor carbonizing composition I 2, while a plurality of stripes I3, one ofwhich is usually marginal, are left without transfer or carbon coatingfor the reception of adhesive.

According to the preferred form of the present invention, theseuncarbonized portions I3 have applied thereto on both faces thereofbands of adhesive material I4, which bands have a sinuous configuration,preferably substantially sinuoidal as shown. These bands of adhesivematerial may be and preferably are applied to the web simultaneouslywith the application of carbon coating I2, and their application may beeffected by any suitable means. Preferably a pair of opposed rollershavin either raised or intaglio sinuous printing surfaces thereon arearranged to engage opposite faces of the web at portions I3 thereof.Suitable adhesive material is fed to the rollers and transferred by themto the Web in an operation similar to that of printing. The rollers willpreferably be provided with interlinking means and their printingsurfaces so related that the sinuous bands I 4 of adhesive material areout of phase with each other, and preferably, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,they will be arranged to be in substantially opposite phase.

Such a double application of adhesive, when not disposed in accordancewith my invention would normally make the strip portion I3 of the webwith the adhesive thereon excessively thick so that winding thereof forthe purpose of collecting the same after coating, or for storagepurposes, would normally be rendered impractical due to the crinkling,tearing, or both which At any point in the process where would resultfrom the uneven thickness across the web. My invention contemplates thearrangement of the adhesive bands in a sinuous configuration such asthat shown in the drawing as a means for avoiding this difiiculty. Withmany adhesive materials presently in use it is feasible to apply to theweb a layer of substantially the same order of thickness as the carboncoating but which is still of suitable thickness for proper functioningin its adhesive capacity. The difiiculty in winding, therefore, arisesprimarily from the two opposite layers often required which makes theadhesive carrying portions excessively thick. This situation can bereadily visualized by an inspection of the sectional view of Fig. 3. Ifit were assumed that the bands I4 were coextensive and overlapping, theseriously excessive thickness which would be occasioned in the stripeportion I3 of the web can be readily appreciated. With my invention,however, the only overlapping portions causing a. double thickness ofadhesive are in areas I5 where the bands intersect. As the web is woundupon itself to form a roll, the areas I5 will be found in most cases tonest within the open space provided between the bands I4. If there isany tendency whatever for the stripe portion I3 to increase in diametermore rapidly than the carbon coated portions due to the infrequentsuperpositioning of intersections I5, the same is so slow that itseffect is imperceptible during the winding of rolls of any practicalsize.

The spacing of the intersections I5, or, in other words, the peakspacing 0r wave length of the sinuously configured bands I4, togetherwith the width of said bands will depend upon the thickness of theadhesive coatings, the thickness of the base material of web Ill and thethickness of the coating I2 of carbon material carried by the web. Sincethese thicknesses vary over wide ranges in the manufacture of carbonpaper, no

' practical formulae can be prescribed. Suffice it to say that the bandwidth is sufficiently restricted and the peak spacing sufficiently greatthat the stripe portions I3 will pile up at substantially the same rate,when the web is wound onto a roll as the carbon coated portions of theweb.

Fig. 2 illustrates an alternate form of my invention wherein a singlewidth strip I I of carbon paper including a single stripe portion I3 isshown. This structure is the product resulting from the slitting of theweb II] of Fig. 1. Such an article may, however, be produced in thisform without passing through the initial multiple strip or wide webstage if desired.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated in Figs. 4 to 7, whereinis shown the arrangement of an adhesive band for a carbon web I0a havinga single-face adhesive application in the form of band Ma. Under certaincircumstances such an adhesive application may serve the purpose of theuser or forms manufacturer better than the double application of Figs. 1to 3. The nature of some adhesives, however, is such that the minimumoperative thickness of the band I4a applied to stripe portion I3a issubstantially in excess of the normal thickness of the carbon coatingI2, and where this is the case, the application of the band Ma in asinuous form will provide a structure which can be wound.

Fig. 5 is a cross section of such a web and illustrates roughly therelative thicknesses of the web and coatings which may, in certaininstances, be encountered. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5

but showing only a part of two superposed layers or convolutions. Thepurpose is to illustrate the manner in which sections of the adhesivebands I la nest so as to come within the radial thickness provided forthem by the carbon coated portions of the web. Fig. '7 is a view similarto Fig. 6 but showing four superposed layers or convolutions andillustrating the arrangement and nesting of the layers which will occurat a location where the bands 14a of one pair of convolutions cross atHer, and where the bands Ma of a second pair of convolutions also crossin a position substantially axially aligned with and offset from thefirst crossing, as at lb.

From the foregoing description it can be seen that in a large percentageof the relative positions which the adhesive bands Ila of the variousconvolutions will assume, the nesting arrangement of the layers willprevent an increase in diameter of the stripe portion 13 of the roll ascompared with the carbon coated portion thereof. Consequently, shouldany overlaps occur which lack compensation, these will be so infrequentthat any tendency of the stripe portion |3a to increase in diameter overthe carbon coated portion of the roll will proceed extremely slowly, andits effect in any roll having a useful and practical diameter would beimperceptible.

A manifolding set 2|], shown in Fig. 8 illustrates one use to which thecarbon sheets and strips of the invention will normally be put. The setconsists of alternate record sheets 2| and carbon sheets 22 boundtogether along the marginal portion 23, preferably by activation of adouble adhesive application on the carbon sheets, such adhesive havingbeen activated by heat, pressure, a solvent or softening agent, or byother suitable treatment'depending upon the type of adhesive used. Thedimensions of the set of Fig. 8 indicates that it is intended for singlemanifolding use. A continuous manifolding set results when the dimensionparallel to marginal portion 23 is extended in which case elements 2|would be considered record strips, usually provided with repeating formstherealong, and elements 22 would be considered carbon strips similar tothe strips l I described above.

In the interests of clarity the expressions regular peak spacing" andequal peak spacing, used hereinafter are defined in the followingmanner:

Regular peak spacing-The undulating line, while it may have varying waveshapes or lengths, involves a substantially repeating pattern ofconstant length at least to the extent that the distance between anypeak and its corresponding peak in the next group are alwayssubstantially equal to the spacing between the peaks of any other suchcorresponding pair and equal to the pattern or group length.

Equal peak spacing--The undulating line has a constantly repeating waveshape or length at least to the extent that the distance betweenadjacent peaks is always substantially the same.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture a transfer medium for manifolding usecomprising a web of fabric having a coating of transfer compositionthereon, a longitudinally extending portion of said web being free oftransfer material and carrying thereon an application of dry, normallyinactive adhesive, said adhesive application having a continuous sinuousconfiguration of regular peak spacing whereby the web may be woundwithout damage to itself.

2. As a new article of manufacture a windable strip of transfer materialhaving a transfer coating thereon, a longitudinally extending margin ofsaid strip being free of said transfer coating, and a continuoussinuously disposed application of dry, normally inactive adhesivematerial extending along said margin, said application having a regularpeak spacing.

3. As a new article of manufacture a windable strip of manifoldingcarbon paper having an uncarbom'zed marginal portion, and a, pair oflongitudinally extending applications of dry, normally inactive adhesivematerial carried, one on each surface of said marginal portion, saidadhesive applications having continuous sinuous configurations such thattheir peak spacings are equal and being so related in their relativelongitudinal displacement that their overlapping portions are restrictedin area and spaced along the strip.

4. A roll of transfer material comprising a web having the structure setout in claim 1, wherein the web is wound upon itself to form acylindrical roll having substantially wrinkle-free convolutionsthroughout.

5. A roll of carbon paper comprising a strip having the structure setout in claim 3, wherein the strip is wound upon itself to form acylindrical roll having wrinkle-free convolutions throughout.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a transfer medium for manifoldinguse comprising a web of fabric having a coating of transfer compositionthereon, a longitudinally extending portion of said web being free oftransfer material and carrying thereon an application of dry, normallyinactive adhesive, said adhesive application having a continuous,substantially sinusoidal configuration whereby the web may be woundwithout damage to itself.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a sheet of transfer materialobtainable by cutting from a roll of wound strip, comprising a sheet offlexible fabric having a transfer coating thereon, one margin of saidsheet being free of said transfer coating and carrying thereon anapplication of dry, normally inactive adhesive extending alon saidmargin, said adhesive application having a continuous sinuousconfiguration of regular peak spacing.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a sheet of manifolding carbon paperobtainable by cutting from a roll of wound strip, comprising a sheet offlexible fabric having a carbon coating thereon, one margin of saidsheet being uncarbonized and having on its opposite surfacesapplications of dry normally inactive adhesive extending along saidmargin, said adhesive applications each having a continuous sinuousconfiguration of regular peak spacing, said applications being sopositioned on the surfaces of said margin as to be out of register andwith overlapping portions of restricted area only spaced along themargin.

9. The article of manufacture as set forth in claim '7 wherein theadhesive application has equal peak spacings.

10. The article of manufacture as set forth in claim 7, wherein theadhesive application is substantially sinusoidal.

11. The article of manufacture as set forth in claim 8 wherein theadhesive applications have equal peak spacings.

12. The article of manufacture as set forth in claim 8 wherein theadhesive applications are Number substantially sinusoidal. 2,260,602DOUGLAS A. NEWMAN. 2,503,680

REFERENCES CITED r Number The following references are of record in the356 365 file of this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Brenn Oct. 28, 1941 Newman Apr. 11, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. 10, 1931 Great BritainOct. 1, 1931

